AN: Doing another Yotsuba chapter before I jump ship to Miku. I've had this idea for a long time, and is actually based on my own college experience. Obviously, a lot of it is altered to fit the story and such.

Chapter 2: Yotsuba's Run

Yotsuba woke up from one of the best nights of sleep she had ever had. She felt refreshed and energetic, and her body was all tingly. Her only regret was that she woke up in the middle of the best part of her dream.

She watered her plants and brushed her teeth before getting dressed. She had plants for the day and had been eagerly awaiting this chance. She put on her jogging suit and bow and grabbed her phone. There was already a cute message from Fuutarou telling her good morning. She sent him one back covered in heart emojis.

Down the stairs and in the main room, Yotsuba spotted Miku. The third sister was watching the news and drinking some tea. She hadn't done much in the last couple days aside from work, sleep and eat. Ichika and Nino had both expressed worries about her. Yotsuba took it to heart, and blamed herself. She was so caught up in her happiness, that she just took her sister's word for it. She hadn't stopped to think that maybe Miku and the others were silently suffering as she had, too proud or too scared to admit that they were depressed over losing the battle for Fuutarou's heart.

"Miiiiiikuuuuuuu!" Yotsuba hollered as she slid down the stairs. "You off today?"

"Yeah." Miku sighed.

"Well, I was planning on having Ebata-San drive me over to the Uesugi's to meet up with Fuutarou-Kun." Miku clenched up at Yotsuba's words. The fourth sister was right! She was still bummed over that. On one hand, Yotsuba felt extremely guilty. On the other hand, that meant it was her job to set things right. "We're going to go on a lengthy jog. You're more than welcome to come."

"I don't know." Miku said. "I'm not exactly cut out for that sort of thing."

"You're better than Fuutarou-Kun." Yotsuba quipped. That got a smile out of Miku. "Come on, it'll be good for you. You'll feel a lot better. And you won't have to worry about what Fuutarou-Kun and I are up to."

Miku shot daggers at Yotsuba. Even though the third sister had long made peace with the possibility that Fuutarou would choose someone else, Yotsuba had come as a surprise. Miku had trusted her, and now wondered if all of Yotsuba's efforts had been genuine. Of course they were, so she thought, but a broken heart was the pathway of many doubts. And Miku, had a long history of doubting herself.

"But I'm not as good as you." Miku said. "You're so cheery and you have so much love for everyone. You're everything Fuutarou could have ever wanted. Plus you never hesitate to ask for help, or to help others. And you're amazing at sports and ..."

"I can't cook." Yotsuba interrupted her. "Remember the three things Fuutarou looks for in a girl? Yeah, he was talking about Raiha, but I know you took them to heart. That's why you put so much effort into learning how to cook and now look at you. You'd give Nino a run for her money."

"What's this about cooking?" A sleepy Itsuki said as she slumbered into the room.

"Itsuki, help me convince Miku to go on a run with Fuutarou-Kun and I."

"That's nice." Itsuki said as she zombied into the kitchen. "I'll come too."

"See Miku, Itsuki will come with us!" Yotsuba cheered. Miku didn't change her expression. "Come on, you're making me and everyone else sad just moping around here."

"You're right." Miku said. "I was just so frustrated. Like, there's this part of me that thinks I just wasn't good enough."

"We all love you." Yotsuba said. "And I swear, I'll make sure that your efforts stay acknowledged." She walked behind her sister and pulled her hair up in a bun. "Come on, Fuutarou-Kun will be expecting us soon."

Later that day, the four of them were rounding the block towards the Nakano apartment. Yotsuba was in the lead, barely building up a sweat. Itsuki was right behind her. Fuutarou and Miku were neck and neck, breathing heavily and sweating profusely.

"Must...drink...water." Fuutarou said.

"Come on, we're almost there." Yotsuba spun around and ran backwards a few paces while she said that.

"Where the hell does she get all this energy?" Fuutarou huffed.

"And we made it!" Yotsuba cheered. Itsuki slumped down against the wall. Fuutarou doubled over. Miku dropped to the ground and unzipped her top a little bit. "That was a good run." She jumped over and hit Fuutarou in the back. "Gotta get your back straight."

"Yotsuba what are…." He paused as Yotsuba wrapped her arms around him and straightened out his back.

"Deep, slow breaths." Yotsuba whispered. "You'll build up your stamina before too long."

"I guess, I gotta do something to occupy my time when there's nothing that needs to be studied." He whispered back.

"You can always study me." Yotsuba giggled.

"Yotsuba, that's way too forward!" Itsuki shouted.

"You're the only one that thought of it that way." Miku said. She had also thought of it that way. Yotsuba had meant it that way. She had just decided to mess with Itsuki.

They moved their conversation into the apartment. Yotsuba called for the first shower, leaving Fuutarou with the other two girls. Itsuki went into her room to get ready. Fuutarou went into the fridge and grabbed a can of matcha soda. He walked over to Miku and placed it on her cheek, causing her to eep.

"Yotsuba is amazing." Fuutarou said.

"Yeah." Miku grabbed the soda can and popped it open.

"You know, when we first met, you and Nino especially, were really caught up in the whole quintuplet thing. And yeah, hypothetically you all could have turned out to have the same skills, but your efforts went in different directions."

"Yeah, we all played sports when we were kids. Nino and I didn't like it, but Yotsuba did. It was the first sign that we were becoming different. She was the first odd one out and did a lot to differentiate herself. Itsuki and I followed suit."

"Yeah, Yotsuba is the one who got you into video games, right?" Fuutarou recalled. Miku smiled at the fact he remembered such a little detail.

"Said they'd interfere with her studies. I never really thanked you for that. I guess that was the impact you had on her back then. And without that, you wouldn't have gotten through to me the way you did."

"I would have found a way." Fuutarou said. "But thanks for all your help too."

"Alright I'm done!" Yotsuba cheered as she jumped out of the bathroom.

"That was quick." Itsuki said as she snuck in there.

"It's good to see you two still getting along." Yotsuba said as she squeezed in between them. Fuutarou couldn't help but admire her tank top and short shorts. And she was agonizingly close to him. She seemed to notice and in his embarrassment, he covered his mouth and looked away.

"I'm glad." Miku said. "That if I lost, it was to someone who always loved and supported you Fuutarou."

"Yeah." Fuutarou said.

"AWWW, I love my family!" Yotsuba wrapped her arms around the two of them and pulled them closer. Miku just rolled with it. Fuutarou on the other hand started silently screaming inside.

"Alright." Fuutarou broke free of Yotsuba's grip. "We should probably stretch our limbs to keep them from cramping. And I'm getting hungry."

"I'll make some lunch when I'm done with the shower." Miku said.

"Nice." Fuutarou said.

The three of them sat there, making small talk about the games Miku had been playing recently and how work had been going. When Itsuki was done, she joined them and Miku ran up to take her shower. As soon as she was out of earshot, Yotsuba sprawled out on Fuutarou's lap.

"You're one of the only people that can make that girl genuinely smile." Yotsuba said.

"It's because I'm one of the first people who actually took those parts she thought made her a loser, and told her that's what made her special and cool." Fuutarou explained.

"I could marry you right now." Yotsuba said. "You're everything we ever needed. You did a lot better job fulfilling your promise than I did."

"All I could do was help. The effort was entirely up to you." He smiled.

"It's nice." Itsuki said, finally joining in the conversation. "This is exactly what our family needed. The kind of help money can't buy."

"Money is still a good motivating factor." Fuutarou joked.

"Just shut up when I'm praising you." Itsuki huffed.

Fuutarou was looking forward to more days like this. These girls, even after graduation, always made him feel needed. And he'd run to the ends of the Earth if that's what Yotsuba wanted to do. They all had their special qualities, but Yotsuba was that much more special in his heart.

AN: The narrative kinda slipped from me there. But, I'm writing this to have wholesome cute moments and if I can deliver on that then mission accomplished.